The present invention relates to systems for logging, managing, and reporting data relating to operational parameters associated with a device. More particularly, it relates to systems and methods for recording, in an unobtrusive manner, operational parameters associated with a device such as a vehicle, machine, product, etc., and reporting the logged information to a central location, for example via wireless communication.
Manufacturers and users of many different devices oftentimes have a strong interest in understanding how the device is operated and/or how the device performs. Some examples of such an application are vehicles. The types of vehicles for which operational/performance information is of value are wide-ranging, for example trucks, automobiles, construction equipment, buses, recreation vehicles (e.g., snow mobiles, all-terrain vehicles, watercraft), agricultural implements, etc., to name but a few. Operational and/or performance information is also highly desirable for a plethora of other devices, ranging from industrial equipment (e.g., pumps, machinery, etc.) to personal products such as bicycles and lawn mowers. Regardless, while it may be possible for the actual user to manually record some parameters of interest, this approach is highly susceptible to human error. Further, persons other than the user or operator do not have direct access to recorded information. Also, many operational parameters of interest are simply not readily available to the user and/or cannot be consistently recorded over short intervals.
In light of the above, it has been suggested to provide a data acquisition unit, or data logger, with the device in question. In general terms, the data acquisition unit records information from a sensor associated with the device for subsequent retrieval and analysis. Conventional data loggers simply store the information in an on-board memory that must be directly, electronically linked (i.e., hard wired) to a separate computing device in order to view the stored information, and oftentimes requires physical removal of the data acquisition unit from the device. This represents a distinct drawback. Further, many conventional data acquisition systems come equipped with a single, specific sensor that, while appropriate for one device to be monitored, is of little or no value for any other device, thus overtly limiting the overall applicability of the system. Along these same lines, the data acquisition unit is oftentimes only able to capture data from a single sensor over discrete time intervals (e.g., where multiple sensors are provided, information is stored for only one of the sensors at any point in time), thus raising another system limitation. Pointedly, the seemingly endless improvements to sensors (in terms of, for example, parameters able to be sensed, sensing or sampling rates, etc.) have negatively impacted the viability of conventional data acquisition units in that the ability to record meaningful information over extended periods of time is not possible, especially for small sized device applications in which a large memory unit cannot be employed.
Certain devices present additional, currently unmet, constraints upon the data acquisition unit. For example, for many vehicle applications, simply connecting or assembling a sensor to the vehicle's operational equipment (e.g., motor, common area network vehicle bus, etc.) along with a memory for recording sensed data is not a viable option. In particular, many vehicles operate under rugged conditions (e.g., temperature, high humidity, exposure to water or snow, etc.), dictating that the sensor/associated memory cannot be left unprotected. Additionally, for the operational information to be of real value, a number of parameters must be monitored, and thus an array of different sensors and/or data sources are required. In many instances, the vehicle operator and/or owner will simply not accept a system configuration in which multiple sensors are randomly assembled to various locations about the vehicle's motor. Similar footprint-type constraints are raised by many other devices for which operational monitoring is desired.
In light of the above, a need exists for systems and methods for unobtrusively logging device operational parameters from multiple, discrete sensor sources and transmitting this data to and organizing the data at or within a central location.